That Which is Forgotten

The Cheese of Legend!

Houdyn, Merric, and Fimbultyr are back at Willy’s. They give the moon cow to Willy, and demand payment. “Listen, yoo cin threaten me all yoo want. I won’t give ya a cent if ya do!” Willy recanted. “Looks like we’re stuck working for this goon…” Houdyn whispered to the party.

Marco came up from the basement. “You’re back already! You truly are quick. I’ve determined the next ingredient, however, there’s a problem…”

“We need the dandruff of a Dwarvern king. The only thing is that, there are no more dwarvern kings. There live in Autocratic societies in the South lands. You may find some ruins in the area however. If my research is correct, Sharntol-ok, the capital of the ancient dwarf kingdom Korce, is located near here. As for the exact location… I could say. It was once the heart of Korce, but it was cursed by the goblins. Now it is empty and forsaken. It should be completely empty. A specimen may be ready for collecting.”

As the group began their search, they thought it would be beneficial to ask a towns person if they knew anything. They met a tall man just outside the town. When asked if he had heard of any ruins, he mumbled some words and pointed East. That’s where the party went.

Inside the Ruins

After a few days, the group stumbled upon a doorway blocked by a stone. Above the door was a scene of dwarves and goblins battling. When they removed the stone, they were greeted by a long dark tunnel. At the end They found that Sharntol-ok was not as deserted as Marco believed. They found their across a hidden bridge to the top of a castle. There they battled a few goblin guards. They were being overpowered by the creatures, and just when they thought hope was lost, a voice shouted, “Don’t lose hope, my friends!”

Davven Firstborn and Roland entered the scene and with the combined force of the party, they were able to kill the goblins.

“How did you find us?” Houdyn asks.

“You leave an easy trail.” Roland replied.

As they entered the next room, they saw that it was a massive spiral stair case. After they descended a while they came to a doorway. Merric tried to sneak inside but tripped and alerted the large goblin inside. He was taken care of quickly, and the party saw a dragonborn tied to the ceiling. “I am Balasar the great golden skinned!” He proclaimed, “Being captured was all apart of my plan, I was about to strike before you arrived.”

The group made him swear on his honor that he would help them, and he agreed. After he was cut down, they continued down the stairs. Finally at the bottom, Balasar pulled a lever, and the ground began to sink. “An elevator!” Merric said.

Down… Into the Bowels

When they reached the bottom, they saw a large room with a nonworking fountain in the center. Banners of a forgotten kingdom hung on the walls. “Looks like the place, now let’s get the dandruff and get out of here.” Roland stated.

They found the kitchen and went into the meat locker. Inside they found their balance challenged by a sheet of ice. While they attempted to regain their balance they were also attacked by undead cooks wielding cleavers. After the battle, Fimbultyr found that the ice was coming from an orb of chill. Merric made sure he was able to grab that.

After that they went into the library. They found many books, most of which were in dwarvish. Fimbultyr did find the ritual, Eye of Alarm. They entered the special selection section, where two corpses were found, one hanging by a noose. A book on the ground read, “Everything is fine”, but Roland saw through the sorcery. The Secret Page ritual, which was located in the room, had been used to hide the true text. It read:

Everyone is killing eachother. I locked Marcia and myself inside for saftey, but when she attacked me I had to kill her. I can’t go on. God’s forgive me.

“This was a truly horrible fate. The goblins that did this were wicked. I hope to one day fight a foe that powerful. I will show him the might of the dragons!” Balasar said.

They entered the book master’s chambers from the library, and met swarms a rats. After dealing with them, a small tunnel was found. Merric volunteered to crawl down it. At the end, he emerged in the guard’s barracks. There were two doors, one of metal and the other wooden. He opened the wooden door to come face to face with a plethora of skeletons guarding the throne. Upon the throne was an old inanimate skeleton of a dwarvern king. However, Merric made a run for it back to the tunnel. The group berated him for not checking the other door.

They found the royal study that contained a pedestal with a chalice upon it. Fimbultyr noticed a magical glyph on the pedestal, but before he could warn him, Balasar stepped forward and grabbed the chalice. As large explosion threw him against the wall. He got up covered in blood, and proclaimed, “This will bring me great honor among my tribesmen!”

Houdyn scorned him for his foolish actions, and began to threaten him. “I do not want to kill you half-elf, take it,” Balasar said as he threw Houdyn the Chalice, “but I get the next treasure!”

They left the study and found themselves in the great hall, just north was the throne room. But they instead tried to enter the feast hall. Upon stepping through the door, Houdyn fell into a chasm. Reached his arm out and Balasar caught him. “Do not do that again, I will not either.” Balasar warned.

Davven and Balasar threw Merric to the other side of the room with a rope tied around him. both sides anchored the rope and one by one they crossed. Balasar jumped and landed on the edge, Davven climbed across and helped him up. Houdyn climbed across as well. Roland walked across the rope. Fimbultyr cut the rope on his side, and swung across. “This way the skeletons can’t follow us.” He said as he jumped. His grip was not tight enough, and he fell into the darkness. His screams echoed until they were too far to hear. The group sat, horrified that they just lost their friend, but they had to keep moving. They enter the chambers which lead to a narrow bridge connecting the main two to a smaller one.

“I’m not going in there. There could be dragons!” Merric states.

“My kin haven’t been seen in thousands of years. Also this is no place for the great race to live. It would be an insult to call this place a dragon home!” Balasar replied.

They walked across the bridge and spotted 2 guards. Roland used his psionic abilities to toss them into the abyss. Upon entering the room, they were attacked by dozens a rats lead by 2 dire rats, and as they fought a female voice screamed, shaking the room and destroying the access bridge. It was the undead Dwarvern Queen. She began to slash at merric and bit him in the shoulder, he passed out from pain. Davven rallied the group around him and they reduced her to a corpse.

“Now what? We’re trapped! We came all this way, killed so many, lost Fimbultyr… only to die in the damned room!” Merric worried.

“I’m sure there’s a way out. we will find it, but in the meantime, let us address our wounds.” Davven said

“The first one I can tell just by smelling it.” Marco said, “We need a moon cow to get the milk! Now… The nearest mooncow I can think of should be at Baxton Manor just North of here. Do be cautious, though. Mr. Baxton is a strange man.”

To Baxton Manor!

So they ventured to the manor, stopping only to view a far off fort. Houdyn had to resist the urge to explore it closer, but he was persuaded to continue forward. When they arrived at the manor, they knocked on the front door, but there was no reply. When they ventured into the building they heard a grunting sound coming from the basement. There was an iron door in the basement, and when they asked who was in there, the sound ceased. After knocking several times, Merric took matters into his own hands and tried to pick the lock. Although, he was unsuccessful, he realized the lock was strangely shaped and the key would be easily recognizable. The group searched the house finding and swiping some gold. When a servant walked up to them, Houdyn tried to scare him into telling them where they key was. This resulted in the man running away, which was the last straw for the already frustrated Houdyn. He fired his Eldritch Blast into the man’s back, killing him. Suddenly the group was hit from behind and fell unconscious.

As they woke up, they found that their hands and ankles were bound and they had been thrown in a cell. The room was dark, but they could see a cow with a patch that resembled a crescent moon on it’s head. “There’s the cow! Let’s nab it and get out of here!” Fimbultyr suggested.

Merric retorted “Great plan! Only we’re not in the most advantageous position right now!”

They tried to scream as if they were dying, hoping a guard would come for them to ambush, but all they heard was a voice that wasn’t quite a man’s but not quite a woman’s, “Shut up, you! Mr. Baxton is resting, and you’ll disturb him. Don’t worry, you’ll each get your time with him…”

Houdyn looked in the cell. Next to a bed roll, he saw a skeleton laying on its back. He saw the finger was pointing to the wall. When his eyes followed it, he saw a loose brick! Merric had a dagger hidden in his vest and was able to untie everyone. When they removed the brick they found a note. It read:

“These guys are freaks! what they’ve done to me is unspeakable. The things they had the cow do to me are dispicable. I don’t want to live anymore, so I refuse to eat. If you are reading this, know that I snabbed the key from his trousers while he… had his way with the cow. It’s hidden in the pillow case. I only wish I had gotten it sooner. After what they did to me, I have no will to go on…”

“Wait… He did what to the cow?” Merric asked in a rather unpleasant tone.

They grabbed the key from the pillow case, and escaped the cell. They found their equipment on a desk, along with some treasures. They grabbed the cow and went out the cellar exit to the outside.

“I just want to forget whatever that was and get this cow to Willy.” Fimbultyr said what everyone else was thinking.

The Cheese of Legend!

After looting a holy symbol and some gold from Silvia’s cart, the group took out the legendary cheese, and brought it to Willy. “Now tha’s wha ah’m talkin’ about! You’re already back! So? Where’s the cheese?!”

Merric pulls it from his pocket, but quickly cuts a slice of for himself. “This is all we could get.” Merric calmly says.

Willy’s face twists a bit. “Hmm. It’s no very much, ba ah guess it’ll doo. Right, now before I can pay ya, ya must do one more thin. Go find Marco the Dairy wizard. He’s an old friend of mine, and he’ll help my reverse engineer this specimen.”

Reluctantly, the party leaves to find this Marco. They’d traveled west for about half a day when they found an old run down cottage. They went inside and were hit with a cheesy smell, only this one was putrid. Rotten cheese and ingredients were sprawled out all over the room. A small figure got of the floor and looked at the group. “Oh! Guests! Let me get you something to eat!” It was a gnome, a strange sight to see this far from the Far Western Edge. He was a head shorter than Merric.

“We’re not here for cheese. Little Willy needs your help making some cheese.” Houdyn said, mater of factly.

Marco looks at the ground and says quietly, “I would love to go, but I’m expect someone… whom I expect may be dead… or not. You see my nephew’s village burned down a week ago and I have yet to hear from him. If you could go see if he is alright, I’ll come with you. He should be easy to find, he’s a gnome that wears a golden ring. I got it for him for his birthday many years ago.”

As the party advanced to the village, they heard voices coming from down the road. Roland hid in the trees, Merric jumped behind a boulder, and Houdyn stayed in the middle of the road. "I"ll be the distraction." He whispers to his comrades.

“Yeah, the boss is crazy! I say we just get the he… Wait! Who are you?!” the voices were coming from human bandits. They drew their maces and prepared for battle. As far as they knew it was 3 against 1. But as they advanced forward, they were hit with a wall of psychic energy from Roland, and Houdyn followed it up with a fiery eldritch blast. One of them got a good hit in on Houdyn and knocked him back a bit, but as the front two assualted him the third bandit noticed Roland hiding in the trees. Before he could get to him, Merrics dagger met him. The bandit gave him a swing of the mace, but the nimble halfling leaned back to dodge it.

Roland assaulted one bandits mind, weakening him for Houdyn to finish him with his hellish rebuke. As the bandit’s corpse melted away, his ally’s anger burned against houdyn, but before he could swing his mace, a streak of light flew at him and burned his arm. Houdyn turned to see a Deva standing behind him in the road. Rolan distracted the bandit in the back long enough for Merric to run after the other still breathing bandit, but his attack did not hit its mark. The other bandit realized the halfling had fled and came up to him and picked him up in a grapple. Houdyn tried to help his friend, but he had another bandit to worry about. The bandit swang his mace with ferocity toppling Houdyn over slightly. The Deva spoken a prayer from a book and Houdyn felt his wounds healing. Meanwhile, Merric was struggling to get out of the grasp of the bandit when suddenly, his captures nose started leaking blood, then his ears. The man fell over dead. Roland had sent a barrage of mental pulse that reduced the bandits brains to mush.

The last bandit, realizing he was now 1 against 4 tried to escape, but Roland threw his spear, and pinned the man to a tree. “Where are the rest of you? How many of you are there? Tell me or prepare to die!” Houdyn spoke harshly.

“I swear I’m done with banditry!” The beaten man said, “The boss went crazy ever since he got that staff. He’s been burning people up! There’s about 20 of us! Now please don’t kill me!” The bandit cried.

Roland removes the spear, then stabs him with it. The man dies.

“That was an unnecessary death, we should work to prevent such things.” Speaks the Deva. He is robes, and has a bag full of book and scrolls.

“And who are you, purple man?” Roland joked.

The deva looked at the corpse for a moment, then back at Roland. “I am Fimbultyr, the archivist. and I have much more important things to do than killing those who are begging for their life.”

AS he turns around to walk away, Merric speaks up. “Hey, take this,” He throws the holy symbol at Fimbultyr, “I think you’ll find it more useful than us. If you’re ever looking for some adventure, come find us.”

Fimbultyr bows and walks away.

The group decided to make camp for the night. As they are resting by a camp fire, a noise comes from the bushes. They prepared their weapons for a fight. An old man came out of the thicket, holding a spear in his hand.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Roland cautiously asked.

“My name is Davven Firstborn, and I’m looking for something to do. Ever since I was awoken by that Deva I’ve been hunting and honing my skills. I’m ready to test them. I must be on the top of my game for when my time of vengeance is at hand.”

When the group neared the village, they saw that it was reduced to ashes. Merric sneaked through the gate to the only building left standing. While he motioned for the party to come over, a man flew from the building screaming and burning. He fell over, and was quiet. When the rest of the party caught up, they looked the window and saw that the room was full of bandits, with a leader sitting on the throne in the end of the room. He held in his hand a staff with a flame on the tip. While they were watching the men, the chief made direct eye contact with Roland. He lift the staff and a blast of flame destroyed the wall the party was behind. As they got up from the blast, they saw a dozen men running at them. Houdyn sent his eldritch blast at one and ended him. Merric stabbed one and ran behind the wall. As a bandit tailed him, Merric turned around and placed a dagger in his eye. While the fight ensued, Roland noticed the leader was wearing a golden ring.

“The Chief has the ring!” Roland shouted.

Suddenly he saw a battle axe swing at him. it slashed his arm. Davven saw an open spot and told Merric to hit the bandit with the axe. He turned around and picked up the halfling, but Merric escaped his grip. “Kill them!” The Chief said as he shot flames at everyone in the room, including his men.

One after another, the bandits fell. As Houdyn fought, he saw Merric fall unconscious to the ground. He set aflame the bandit wielding the battle axe, and helped his friend up. The building was burning as the fight continued. The chief came down from his throne to battle. He sent more flames throughout the room. As he did so, the ropes keeping the chandelier suspended met the flame. It fell, and hit the chief. He got up enraged and surrounded by the group. His men were dead. In desperation, he made an explosion pulse from the staff burning everyone. But the reverb broke the building’s final support and it came crashing down. When the smoke cleared, Davven threw the rubble off of himself. He looked around and saw Merric removing the ring from the Chief’s burning corpse.

The Cheese of Legend!

Houdyn and Merric found themselves in a small town called Dunmere. They were directed here by a flier, promising a cash reward for volunteers. The task was unknown, but this “Little Willy” was making some pretty big promises as a reward. “Riches and fame!” It read, “You’ll have more money then you’ll know what to do with!”

In the square they see a human, with a spear slung on his back and the same flier in his hand. “Excuse me,” Merric the Halfling asks, “Do you have any idea where we might find little Willy?”

The human replies, “I’m actually looking for him too. My name is Roland.” He extends his hand for a shake, but it goes unreceived. The Half-elf glares at him. “Well, on any account, I think we should join forces. Something tells me this task won’t be as easy as advertised.”

“We would be glad to have you. I’m Merric and this is Houdyn.” The Halfing states.

They then notice a villager leave a building. A sign next to it reads, “Little Willy’s Cheese”. When they go in, their nostrils are assaulted by the over powering cheesy aroma. They see people seated all over the room, eating cheese and drinking wines. “Ah! Please come in and get comfay, ah’ll be wit yoo in a secund!” Shouts a husky figure from behind the counter.

“I take it you’re little Willy?” Roland said as he approached the counter. “We’re here about this job offer. What does it entail, exactly?”

“Straight ta the point, ah like et! Well, ya see, millenia ago, back when the dragons ruled, they made mortals do lots o’ stuff for them. Building monuments, leveling forests, and cooking delicacies. It was then that the ancient cooks wer able ta make a legendary cheese… of legend! Said to taste so good tha dragons themselves demanded it by the ton every day! Now, the recipe was lost for years, ba someone has some o’ the cheese. Silvia The Cheese Merchant in Reldaville has it! Get it and bring it back ta me, and little Willy will make ya rich! Hahaha!”

So the party set off to find Silvia. When they arrived in Reldaville, they found her nearly instantly. She was peddling her cheese just inside the gates. “Please, you’ll be robbing yourself of an exquisite experience if you don’t buy my cheese! I’ve got the best in the land!”

“What is your best product?” Merric asked her, spying a particularly elevated slice on the cart.

“I have the cheese of legend! The most amazing food ever crafted, and it can be yours for only 80,000 gold!”

“How about we just take the cheese of you for free?” Houdyn said to intimidate her, but Silvia Stood her ground and threatened to call the guards. The group thought it would be best to distance themselves from her and come up with a strategy.

Later, in the Inn, they got a tip from a halfling that Silvia just locks her cheese inside her cart at night and leaves it chained in place. From that they derived a plan. They waited until nightfall, then set the plan in motion. Houdyn went to a nearby stable and frightened the stable boy looking after a lone horse. While he prepared the transportation, Roland convinced the guards that they were moving their cart out of town that night and need the gates to be open. As Merric heard the guards call to open the gate, and saw Houdyn approaching with the horse, he picked the lock to the chain keeping Silvia’s cart in place. Quickly, they attached the cart to the horse, and galloped out of town. The guards noticed they had stolen the cart, but after soon pursuit, gave up and went back to their duties.